'A fine novel about an emigre German singer at large in the America of the 1930s,in which Richard Aronowitz displays his characteristic ability to minglethe slow unravelling of ordinary lives with the ebb and flow of world events.I greatly admired it.'

A fine novel about an emigre German singer at large in the America of the 1930s, in which Richard Aronowitz displays his characteristic ability to mingle the slow unravelling of ordinary lives with the ebb and flow of world events. I greatly admired it.

…Packs a terrific and moving ending. He has done his research into 1930s America and there’s something plausibly selfish about Christoph. His politics are thoroughly decent but the way he treats women is not… [The novel is] about men betraying women, men with secrets and how people with good intentions can hide something truly rotten.

David Herman, The Jewish Chronicle

An American Decade focuses upon some lesser known aspects of the Second World War: Nazism in the US, and the Kindertransport that took Jewish children to safety in other countries. Well written and a compulsive story.

Karen Warren, Historical Novel Society Review

The sense of place and time is so cleverly done. We have a picture of America and Germany painted through ideology as well as physical description so that there is an intensity to the settings that echoes through the pages like Christoph’s voice through the concert halls…. Using popular culture, newspaper reports, letters and Christoph’s first hand experiences the reader is given a vivid and searing view of the times. It is not a comfortable picture and the more Christoph achieves the American Dream, the more the contrasts work so effectively…. Unsettling, perfectly crafted and beautifully written.

Linda’s Book Bag

An expressive, fascinating, and convincing glimpse into 1930’s America just before the Second World War. Within Christoph’s tale links to the wider world are unchained, a Nazi group in America bully and strut their way across the pages, letters arrive from Germany full of fear and uncertainty. An American Decade, set on the brink of a horrifying history, rattling thoughts and feelings, is a compelling, striking read.

Lovereading.co.uk

There’s so much to enjoy and experience in this novel – the writing flows, there’s highs and lows, staccato moments and harmony but Christoph is the lonely note whose melodic cries can be heard throughout telling the story of a troubled time. Glittering.

The Booktrail.com

Unicorn Hunter Books youtube review on »An American Decade«

Nick Piercey BBC broadcast on »An American Decade«

On BBC RADIO OXFORD (95.2FM) Richard talks about writing his historical fiction novel 'An American Decade' while balancing a career at Sothebys where he heads the restitution Department.

John Steinberg’s Blue Skies Over Berlin is a moving and thought-provoking book about guilt and identity, featuring a young German woman who moves to London from war-ravaged Berlin in 1956. Taking a false name – Charlotte Brown – she lands the job of her dreams at the National Gallery, becoming enmeshed in a world of aristocratic rogues, conmen, thieves and shady art dealers.

Head of Sotheby’s Restitution Department, Richard Aronowitz’s »An American Decade« is an ambitious novel that takes in the tumultuous 1930s and the subsequent dramatic events of mid-twentieth century history: the Third Reich; the little-known story of the Nazi organisation – the German American Bund; and the Kindertransport. The authors discuss their work with writer and journalist Jenni Frazer.

Accent Press has signed »An American Decade«, my new novel. The publisher acquired world English rights to the title from Sharon Galant at Zeitgeist Literary Agency. »An American Decade« tells the "little known" story of pre-war German immigrants in New York.

Rebecca Lloyd, editorial manager at Accent Press, said: "Richard writes beautiful, crafted prose. This novel, though set in the 1930s, tells a story of immigration and identity, guilt and redemption, through the voice of one man grappling with a moral dilemma. It is both timeless and incredibly relevant to our current world."

Sharon Galant, co-founding director Zeitgeist Literary Agency, said: "Early into the read, I knew An American Decade had all the ingredients of a page-turner: an epic story spanning a decade and two continents, a family secret swept under the carpet that could destroy a man’s life and brilliant storytelling. The emotional and moral entanglements are cleverly balanced by strong themes. I also loved the atmosphere and sense of place that Richard has achieved. Reading An American Decade is like walking down Broadway in 1930s New York."